Celebrant: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God
People: It is right to give him thanks and praise
This call and response that we participate in every Sunday echoes the words of Psalm 92. Fittingly, this psalm is titled “A Song for the Sabbath,” yet interestingly it entreats the hearer to give thanks and sing praises to Yahweh for the WORKS he has done. We can rest in peace on the Sabbath because he is the one whose work is complete!
At the beginning of this psalm, the Psalmist highlights two attributes of God’s character which are deserving of praise: “to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night” (v. 2). By declaring that he abounds in steadfast love we remind ourselves and one another that he will cling to us even when we stray away. He remains our God even when we struggle to remain his people. Similarly, by being faithful the Lord is true to us even when we fail. His works always make up for our deficits. While steadfast love and faithfulness are only a portion of the characteristics that God announced about himself to Moses in Exodus 34, they are meant to remind us of his whole gracious character. The entirety of his works should create such joy in our hearts that we cannot help but praise!
In verses 5-9, the Psalmist critiques the foolishness of rejecting the Lord’s work. All fools, evildoers, and wicked people try to take matters into their own hands for their gain. Though they may succeed for a little while, the Psalmist reminds his audience that their prosperity is nothing more than a fleeting illusion that the Lord will unravel when he sees fit. To the contrary, the best wisdom is to be planted in the praises of God. By taking root in the worship of our God, by gathering weekly to hear his Word and proclaim his praise, we are constantly fed and grown through the witness of his provision. Our faith is made strong through encountering his loving faithfulness until we are held firm and secure like flourishing trees (vv. 12-15).
The Israelites had plenty to praise God for: his creation and preservation of all things, his calling of Abraham to be a father to the nations and to bring salvation to the broken world, his love and care for Israel throughout the reign of David. We have all of this as the backdrop of our praises, but we also have the blessing of knowing the completion of God’s promise to Abraham. We see how Abraham is the father of the nations because he is the ancestor of Jesus, the one true savior who took on the sins of all the world. We see how the love that Yahweh had for Israel extends to all of humanity and that God is a God of reconciliation and redemption. This is why we boldly say “it is right to give him thanks and praise” in preparation for the Lord’s Supper. We are proclaiming Jesus Christ as the fulfilment of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness, as the one who defeated the powers of sin and death and offered us new life. And as such, we come to the table to receive the body and the blood of Christ, expectantly seeking to be firmly rooted and planted in his body, the Church, that we might bear his fruit! Praise God!
-Michael and Tori Davis
Scripture Reflections
I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch…that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit… Abide in me, and I in you… I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing… If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you… As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.
John 15:1-10
We heard these familiar words of Jesus last Sunday. They have, no doubt, been a great comfort to many of you over the years. The call to simply “abide” in our Savior releases us from the sense that we are responsible for our own fruit. We don’t have to be strong enough, wise enough, or holy enough for the task before us—we simply must remain in Jesus. If we do, he will work through us. This is good news, comforting news!
It is easy to slip into the belief that we have to handle life ourselves, but our Lord is telling us that our primary task is not success, accomplishment, or even a particular level of holiness. Instead, our task is closeness to him. If we cling to Jesus, he promises to bear fruit through us, and promises that the Father will prune and cleanse us. If we cling to Jesus, the Father will lead us onward and grow us up in the ways we need.
For many of us, this raises the question, “How?” We want to abide in our Savior, but each day we feel pulled away. This is where Jesus’ teaching is simple and clean, like good water to the thirsty soul. As he says, we abide in him by letting his words abide in us (v. 7). There are many days when we make things more complicated than they need to be! The call is simple—we are to let his words abide in us. We are to read them, listen to them, memorize them, meditate on them. If his words abide in us, we will abide in him. And later, he says, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love” (10). Again, the call is simpler than we might expect. We don’t have to figure everything out, develop new strategies, or walk in our own strength. Instead, Jesus asks us to simply say “yes” to what he has commanded. We are to say “yes” to forgiveness, “yes” to purity, and “yes” to love. His commands aren’t obscure, and those who keep them will remain in his love.
As you look at the week ahead, let the words of Jesus abide in you, and as you hear his commands, say “yes” to him. In so doing, you will be clinging tightly to Jesus!
-Steven+
Scripture Reflections
Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:5-8)
One of the major themes we have seen over the last few months is the presence of the Spirit in the church, empowering us to be witnesses to the work of Jesus. This has shown up in the women’s Bible study as they study Acts, it was a topic of conversation at the deanery retreat as we prayed for the gift of evangelism, and we heard from Jesus himself this last Sunday the necessity of being transformed in a new birth of water and the Spirit.
We want to see and experience the Spirit empowering and transforming us, so that we know that it is happening! Indeed, sometimes our eyes are opened to perceive what God is doing in us and for us. But as Jesus said to Nicodemus, the Spirit is oftentimes like the wind, which we cannot see coming or going. As we pray that we would be, by the presence of the Spirit, ministers of God in a broken world, we must trust that God will work through us, even when we can’t always see exactly what he is doing.
For many of us, this causes a struggle! If I can’t see what God is doing, then how do I know what to do? But the answer we have heard many times in the last few months is clear: just keep being faithful in what God has given you to do today. As we pray that God would use us for the sake of his kingdom, don’t be dismayed if the best answer you have for what to do is simply, “Lord, help me be faithful to the calling of this day!”
-Steven+